Back again, with one last question. How is this built-in fridge going to get rid of heat?
The compressor is in a metal box (with some vent-slot areas in it) that sits on top of the fridge, which will have cabinetry above and along side it. But the removable upper decorative panel that fronts this chamber is shown in the installation book as solid, not vented (it’s about 10″ high by full-width). I called Kitchen Aid to confirm this, and the tech support guy swore that just the dead airspace around the compressor box was adequate (the compressor fills probably about 1/2 of the volume of the chamber above the fridge). I don’t see how this compartment is going to adequately disperse compressor heat without any opportunity for air flow through a grill or louvers in that front panel. Unnecessary worry?
Thanks.
Replies
Not sure about the Kitchen aid model but the sub-zero has a space around the deco panel when its installed.
I agree some extra vent space is not a bad thing.
Thanks. I think I'm going to put some louvers into the panel, despite what the tech support guy said.
Who cares what the picture looks like. Do you actually believe that to be a highly accurate depiction?
Fro my recollection, it is a panel set proud of a frame so there is a space all around the perimeter of the center panel.
Why question there design? I'm just curious. Did you actually believe that perhaps they forgot about this aspect?
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896
There's not a lot of space around the top panel perimeter - maybe 1/4" or less on the sides and essentially none along top and bottom edges. All in all, no more than a few square inches of gap.
I asked because I prefer to ask before doing things that don't seem sensible to me. Things that interfere with air flow over a heat exchanger will impair cooling. Putting a heat exchanger in what is essentially a small nearly-closed box didn't strike me as sensible. Hence my question. Am I an engineer? No. And Kitchen Aid probably employs plenty of them. So apparently enough of the heat does find its way out of the box or gets absorbed into the cabinetry to make things work.
see post 7
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896
My question is this: What is the efficiency when it has no easy ventalation? While the company says that "It will work"... so will my car's AC when I'm driving through the desert. It will work in that heat, but won't it work more efficiently with a supply of cooler air? I doubt the company cares about the customers electricity bills after selling a $2500 fridge.
Tu stultus esRebuilding my home in Cypress, CAAlso a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
see below post
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896
You mean this one? If so, I'm kinda talking to myself.
Tu stultus esRebuilding my home in Cypress, CAAlso a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
You seem to be overthinking this thing. If you're installation meets the manufacturers requiements you're home free.
You can bet that the Kitchen Aid folks have already done the calcs and have added all the conservativeism needed. You don't need to gild the lilly. - lol
Let me back up for a second.
If you are talking about a non-vented space for the compressor motor alone, that indeed is proabaly just fine. That part is going to have a wide working temprature range.
The spot you need fresh air is around the condensor coils, not the compressor. Are the coils geting air?
Tu stultus es
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
To summarize: The compressor and the heat exchanger (coils) are in a vented metal box on top of the fridge. There is a small fan in the box that blows air across the heat exchanger - as a result, there will be some air circulation in/out of the metal box. At issue is whether the chamber that encloses the box (and is less than 50% larger than the box itself) needs to be adequately vented, or whether it will lose enough heat just by small passive air leaks and absorption of heat into the wooden cabinet structure to allow the heat exchanger to function efficiently, even on hot summer days.
/dead horse. beating. finished.